2024 Diamondbacks Camp Battles: Contingency Catcher
The backup catcher competition is the fourth camp duel that Inside the Diamondbacks will be showcasing. After an exceptionally successful rookie campaign in 2023, Gabriel Moreno is the starting pitcher for the D-backs. During the Winter Meetings, general manager Mike Hazen stated that in a healthy season, Moreno should start between 110 and 120 games behind the plate. Who will cover the next 40–50 starts behind the plate, then?
Jose Herrera is the only other catcher Arizona has on their 40-man roster, and in just two seasons, he has failed to establish himself as a reliable backup. Five non-roster catchers have been invited to Spring Training, but minor league signing Tucker Barnhart is the only one who has a chance. With the Cincinnati Reds in the 2010s, Barnhart won two Gold Gloves, but in the last two seasons, his bat has vanished.
Potentials J.J. D’Orazio and Adrian Del Castillo, the former of whom spent time with Triple-A Reno last season, were invited to camp. Both players have poor defensive grades, and if they don’t have to, the organization may be reluctant to have two relatively novice catchers on the roster at once. There isn’t much organizational depth at this position.
Prior to joining the squad as a backup in 2022, Herrera spent eight years in the minor leagues after being first signed by the D-backs in the 2013–14 international free agent class. In that role, he has made both Opening Day rosters the past two seasons, but a career.The team’s 208/.296/.257 slash has them searching outside sources for help this offseason. They have signed three catchers to minor league contracts, but they have not yet signed a catcher to a major league contract.
Herrera’s case basically boils down to roster flexibility and, in the event that no player jumps out, selecting a player you know well. Though, in all honesty, there isn’t much room for development in Reno, the D-backs may keep him in the minors for one more season because he has one option left on his contract. There isn’t much room for Herrera down in Reno, where the team already has Ronaldo Hernandez, a minor league signee, and Del Castillo as its probable catcher choices.
The argument against Herrera is that he has had many chances to demonstrate his durability as a catcher but has not yet taken advantage of them. It is not enough defense for a catcher with a light stick to make up for it. Although he is a below-average blocker, he is strong at stopping the running game, with a 1.92 pop time to second that is in the 78th percentile among major league catchers.
After spending two years in Detroit, Barnhart was the starting catcher for the Cincinnati Reds from 2014 to 2020. The Chicago Cubs offered him a two-year contract last winter, but he was let go after just 41 games. He did not play in another major league game after inking a minor league contract with the Dodgers in the middle of the season. He was forced to accept a minor league contract with the D-backs as a result. They will need to make room on their 40-man roster for Barnhart to join the squad.
The D-backs would have a seasoned player with a solid defensive reputation if Barnhart were to sign. Between him and Herrera, he is a better framer, which will aid in the development of younger starters like Tommy Henry, Ryne Nelson, and Brandon Pfaadt. It’s also important to remember that public-facing framing measures may not be comprehensive because there are other variables that could be relevant. In addition, he bats left, which makes him a perfect match for Moreno’s right-handed swing. The D-backs would then be able to choose which off days to use for their starter. Additionally, he has experience working with Eduardo Rodriguez, a left-hander, and in their shared 2022 season in Detroit, he caught 14 of 17 starts.
Barnhart’s bat has vanished when facing right-handed pitchers, which is the case against him. He had a.552 and.508 OPS against righties over the last two seasons. That’s not really an improvement over Herrera’s performance from the previous campaign. With a.554 and.541 OPS in his last two seasons, he is a light-hitting catcher, thus he will need to improve his defense significantly before being worth rostering.
With two-fifths of their anticipated Opening Day rotation having 25 and 23 career starts to their identities, the seasoned Barnhart makes more sense to open the season. It would be better to open the season with that more seasoned backstop and superior framer rather than Herrera, even with the constraints of publicly available data emphasizing that ability. Herrera has one more option left, so they can either move him to a team that truly needs more major league ready catcher depth, or they can stash him in Triple-A Reno and call him up.
